Paola Lenti, the Italian furniture brand, has accepted an invitation from LongHouse Reserve to interpret with its contemporary design furnishings this unique place where art, history, and culture are immersed in nature.
Starting June, visitors can enjoy the exclusive and colorful 100+ armchairs, sofas, poufs, tables, and parasol umbrellas displayed in five areas across the 16-acre gardens. The curated arrangements feature natural woods, rich textures, organic color palettes, as well as weather-resistant fabrics and eco-friendly fibers, which are visually striking, durable, and sustainable. 2024 also marks 30 years of creation for Paola Lenti.
“LongHouse is a union of art and nature, with a mission to inspire living with art in all forms. Our collaboration with Paola Lenti is a true fulfillment of that mission”, shares LongHouse Director Carrie Rebora Barratt. “Paola Lenti is a master of color who took inspiration from LongHouse’s habitat to curate the palette for the exhibition. The spaces will offer LongHouse visitors very special respite from the summer sun.”
“My sister Anna Lenti and I had the honor and pleasure, a few years ago, of meeting [LongHouse Founder] Jack Lenor Larsen”, said Paola. “A sincere understanding immediately formed between us, based on a common vision of nature, its importance for humans, the benefit derived from enjoying art in all its expressions, and the role of craftsmanship as a privileged means to give soul to things. For this place, LongHouse, Larsen has intuited to be the ideal place to insert artworks accessible to everyone. We have selected products that could establish a harmonious and positive dialogue with nature and art.”
Paola Lenti’s products, epitomizing Made-in-Italy craftsmanship, stand out for their exclusive upholstery fabrics, the result of thirty years of research and experimentation, and for their original and unmistakable colors. Within the Longhouse Reserve gardens, they find their finest expression because it is precisely from nature that Paola Lenti draws inspiration for creating her design elements, fabrics and materials.
In the Pavilion and Breezeaway areas, the warm and natural tones of the Kabà, Orlando, Harbour, and Vespucci sofas complement the orange-bordeaux accents of the Telar armchairs and the cushions in Maglia Rasata, echoing the chosen woods for the Giro table tops.
The exclusive terrace on the first floor is characterized by a range of different greens, defining a space with a strong personality: the lounge area, in particular, furnished with Ami armchairs – in the brand-new Moss fabric -, Tobit poufs, and Giro and Strap tables, separates two perfectly symmetrical dining areas. Here, Sunset tables with sassafras wood tops are complemented by Telar chairs intricately woven in turquoise-green Rope belts.
Outside, Paola Lenti products are tasked with creating informal spaces immersed in greenery and dedicated to conviviality. Otto poufs and Telar armchairs in shades of green encircle the pool overlooking the entrance of the house, while near the large pond, other Telar armchairs complement the colors of nature with their vibrant accents of yellow, fuchsia, and orange. Finally, under the Fly’s Eye Dome, the architectural sculpture designed by Buckminster Fuller, it’s once again the Otto poufs, in various shapes and sizes, that punctuate the bright green of the lawn with shades of blue, cyclamen, and purple.
